RCSI University partners with Peninsula Dental School to launch Ireland’s first community-based undergraduate BDS degree, starting in September, with first graduates in 2030.

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has secured a long-term collaborative agreement with Peninsula Dental School (PDS), University of Plymouth.

The partnership will support RCSI in delivering a new undergraduate Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree programme. This will be the first community-based undergraduate dentistry degree programme in Ireland.

The new BDS is a five-year programme that will increase the number of dentists that qualify in Ireland annually. RCSI will welcome the first student intake in September next year and will qualify the first cohort of dentists in the summer of 2030.

Professor Cathal Kelly, vice-chancellor, RCSI, said: “Our commitment to launching [this] programme reflects the importance of dentistry to human health and the key imperative of increasing access to dental care for communities across Ireland.”

Read more in the Summer issue of Ireland’s Dental magazine.

Tags: Bachelor, BDS, education, news, programme, RCSI, training